10/22: Clearing barrel of plastic?

New Member

Just went out to the garage to have a look at my new 10/22, and to put the lock on it. Opened up the box, took it out of the plastic, everything looks great. A piece of plastic was in the chamber, I figured to indicate that the chamber was clear. Ok, time to take that out. Hand slipped, bolt slipped, and half the plastic fell onto the floor. The other half? In the barrel. This thing looks like it is a wire tie, sort of. Which means that there could still be at least part of the male end in the barrel.

Ok, I'll just try and tweeze it out. Tweezers were slightly too big to get a grip, perfect to push it just a little deeper. Well great. How about a dental pick? Now that it is further in, the dental pick worked just like the tweezers, pushing it further along.

Thought of using an air compressor and trying to blow it, from the muzzle into the chamber, but I now can't find my air compressor hose. Is that even a good idea? (Not to make a seal, just to burst it with some air.)

Tried using some canned air, I saw a couple of tiny pieces inside the receiver, but I don't think these were "the" piece I got stuck. Can't be sure.

I suppose I could disassemble the rifle, remove the barrel, then work on it that way, but I'd rather not.

Would aiming a laser pointer down the barrel be an OK way to check for blockage? I tried a flashlight, that didn't do a lick of good.

Any ideas? Would firing it be the dumbest way to check if it is clear? (I'd hate to melt some plastic into my brand new barrel...) Or do I need to further hang my head in shame and take it to a gun shop? (Thought I could get sufficient embarrassment here, but maybe I need some more.)

Thinking about trying to get a bore snake from Wally World and passing that through. That would be the sanest option, right?

New Member

Any suggestions on specific brand / model? Keep reading awful reviews on rods being too large for the bore, even though marketed as .22LR rods. Part of why I was hoping a bore snake might work, but got to thinking about it, and I'm nervous that the weight wouldn't be enough to push out the plastic if it is in there good.

At least online, Walmart only has one kit listed, and it is a "one size fits all." That doesn't leave me confident.

Part of why I'm not satisfied that those couple of small pieces were it. Really thought there was a larger piece, and at this point I won't be comfortable until I get that piece out, or get something (sounds like a rod at this point) through from one end to the other. I want to be 100% sure it is clear before I fire this thing, preferably not even leaving any shavings. Certainly not any larger pieces.

New Member

Well, dumb*** figured out a solution. Went back in the garage to mope and look at what I had done, and saw a thin piece of plastic, much like a wire tie but a little more flimsy. It was just about the diameter of the barrel, so I slid it down, and sure enough a big damn wire tie came out into the receiver along with the tip of the plastic. Gently pulled the plastic out, and the barrel is cleared!

ModeratorStaff Member

Next time lock the bolt back,make sure chamber is clear/empty,stick a white piece of paper in the reciever against the bolt, shine a light on the paper and look down the barrel for obstuction. I would suggest getting a bore light for future use when cleaning.

New Member

Thanks for the tip on the paper! I was trying to do similar to that, but none of the light sources I could come up with would really "get into" the barrel. Big flashlights, no focus on the beam, etc. Even with that, I was pretty sure I had an obstruction as I could get no light into the receiver from the muzzle. I had thought about attempting it the other direction, but then there was the whole hard conditioning of not to point the barrel at something I didn't want to shoot (namely my eye!) and even though I knew that there wasn't a round in the chamber, I could barely get myself to get near the muzzle!

I've done a fair amount of shooting in my life (probably a small amount compared to most here) but this is the first gun that I own, and thus the first that I have to maintain, so I'm slowly figuring out what all I need to keep it running smoothly. Bore light just went on the list, and I'm still debating whether I would rather go the wooden dowel route or the coated rod route. The only thing I know (I think?) so far is that I don't want a segmented rod.

New Member

My dad gave me one and I am impressed with how much fun they are! He also sent me a trigger upgrade kit which was easy to install. This was my first semi auto rifle. I would use a wooden dowl to clear the barrel with the bolt locked open. Your comment about cleanning rods is valid. I don't like to use aluminum or sectioned rods either, especially on small cal. rifles.
It is not that big an effor to remove the barrel either. If my memory serves, just remove the stock and the barrel is mounted with a allan bolt.

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